Narayanhity Royal Palace

Location:

In Kathmandu, near the famous Narayanhity
waterspout

How to reach:

Hire a cab or share an Auto-Rickshaw

Attraction:

Site seeing. Visitors are not allowed to venture in
the main premises

Narayanhity
Royal Palace or Narayanhity Durbar is the home of the monarchs of Nepal.
Some parts of this palace are more than 200 years old. It is the Royal
Palace of the Nepali King. The Shah kings moved to this palace from
their old palace in the late 18th century. This was a decade after they
came out victorious with the gruesome wars with the Ranas. The old
palace that still stands near the famous Durbar Square was abandoned and
the new one was constructed to commemorate that victory. There were
various additions in the course of time. The new edifice was inaugurated
in 1970 on the occasion of the wedding of His Majesty king Birendra Bir
Bikram Shahdev.

The palace witnessed a bloody massacre in the year 2000. King Birendra
Bir Bikram Shah was assassinated along with 7 members of his family
including Queen Aishwarya and Crown Princesses. It was alleged that
Crown Prince Dipendra, who was upset with his immediate family because
they unapproved the girl of his choice, carried out this massacre. He
himself died after few days because of the wounds sustained during
alleged "exchange of fire". Various conspiracy theories were
spun later and there is no clear picture of what happened that night.

The palace takes its name from the Narayanhiti, a famous historic
waterspout situated at the southern corner of the Palace. The Palace
compound is immense, surrounded by high walls and guarded by soldiers.
Visitors can look at the exteriors of the palace from a safe distance.